This is a compilation of the icv2.com retailer surveys of Top Five Roleplaying Games. They are generally compiled quarterly (with some exceptions). ICv2 notes that "the chart[s] [are] based on interviews with retailers, distributors, and manufacturers." Thanks to jodyjohnson for sterling compilation work and to ZsuEtAm over on WotC's D&D forums for finding the pre-2008 entries.

These are not based on actual sales figures. With very few exceptions, sales figures are not available for any of these products.

These do not take into account online sales, direct sales, Amazon, or anything other than hobby retail sales

This is a list of upcoming D&D 5th Edition products. It's fairly brief for ease of use. Prices are MSRP, but the actual prices at some outlets may vary. Release dates are official street dates, although non-preferred stores have their release delayed by 11 days. I haven't included miniatures for the moment.

Gary Gygax had advocated arranging a licensing agreement between TSR, Inc. and Mayfair Games for their Role Aids line of game supplements, but was outvoted in the board meeting considering the question.

In 1993, Mayfair was sued by TSR, who argued that Role Aids—advertised as compatible with Advanced Dungeons & Dragons—violated their 1984 trademark agreement. While the court found that some of the line violated their trademark, the line as a whole did not violate the agreement, and Mayfair continued

What's O.L.D. is N.E.W. is a new line of interconnected roleplaying games. The initial launch features O.L.D., a medieval fantasy game, N.E.W., a science-fiction game, and N.O.W., a game of 80s action heroes. The games were successfully Kickstarted in early 2014, and are slated for release in 2015. You can view the Kickstarter page here. The official website is here.

Build a starship. Brew a potion. Explore a dungeon. Create a universe. Give your wizard a spaceship. Now in hardcover!

Game Details

This page lists many of the most useful articles, features, and interviews on EN World, along with the various projects I'm involved in. Please consider subscribing so that I can continue to do this stuff! Also, please do check out EN5ider and TRAILseeker, two online Patreon 'magazines'.

"In general, the concept and imagination involved is stunning. However, much more work, refinement, and especially regulation and simplification is necessary before the game is manageable. The scope is just too grand, while the referee is expected to do too much in relation to the players. If you need ideas to help you along into your own fantasy adventure games, these booklets will be of use; otherwise your ten dollars will be wasted. I do not suggest these to the average wargamer." - Arnold Hendrick.

There are many out there who enjoy the style and feel of older editions of D&D. While it's certainly possible to find these products on eBay and the like, you may not be aware of the concept of a retroclone. A retroclone is a game that is compatible with, and heavily based on, an unsupported game or unsupported edition of a game.

The master list of role-playing-game-related people to "follow" on Twitter. This list is far from exhaustive and is industry-centric (game designers and the like) - but if there are folks like me out there who are looking for interesting RPG-types to follow, here are a few suggestions.

Use this list as a starting point. It's certainly not an exhaustive list! You'll soon find yourself discovering other people to follow simply by virtue of using this starting network. You'll see who they tweet to, retweet, and so on and develop your own list.

Of course, you'll end up following a lot more than just RPG folks - there will be many people to follow no matter what interests you have. For example, I follow a number of British comedians, the BBC, some of my favourite TV shows, some friends, and so on. But this post is about using Twitter to enhance your gaming.

The first thing you'll probably ask is "What's the point?" I did, too. It was only when I read this excellent post by weem and installed Tweetdeck that I got the hang of it, and I'm glad I did. I strongly recommend that

If you have an iPhone, an iPad, or an Android phone, you may find some of these applications useful. This is a collection of applications from various developers which are directly useful to a role-player. EN World is not affiliated with any of these developers - this is an information post only. Some enable you to reference rules or materials, others roll dice, track initiative, generate random names, and more.

This list is divided into Applications (download from iTunes/app store), Dice Rollers (also downloaded from the app store), and Web Applications (which are simply interactive web pages formatted for use with the iPhone and iPod).

The Freebie Hotlist

Since Oriental Adventures draws from several different Asian cultures, it includes a variety of unusual words. Because of the blend of languages, pronunciation is problematic. For your convenience, the harder-to-pronounce words are listed here, along with a brief definition.

D&D pronunciation. Does it matter? No. Can it be fun to discuss? Sure! While pedantry over pronunciation is the opposite of charisma, that's no reason not to look at the etymology of some of the words we use in our games. The vocabulary of D&D has always been an important part of its appeal. From made-up words with a half-dozen apostrophes to more obscure real world words not often used in general conversation, a D&D player's lexicon of rare words grows as he or she plays the game for longer.

From the 1st-Edition DMG, Appendix N is a list of literary influences which inspired Gary Gygax' development of the game. It's entitled "APPENDIX N: INSPIRATIONAL AND EDUCATIONAL READING" and reads as follows.

Inspiration for all of the fantasy work I have done stems directly from the love my father showed when I was a tad, for he spent many hours telling me stories he made up as he went along, tales of cloaked old men who could grant wishes, of magic rings and enchanted swords, or wicked sorcerors and dauntless swordsmen. Then too, countless hundreds of comic books went down, and the long-gone EC ones certainly had their effect. Science fiction, fantasy, and horror movies were a big influence.

After Vince Calouri was pushed out of Wizards of the Coast he was replaced by Chuck Heubner. Chuck basically had to manage Wizards on the downslope from the Pokemon salad days. Hasbro has been through many boom & bust cycles in the toy business and they have

1980The Fantasy Trip by Jackson (of Texas) published by MetaGaming. Based on minigames Melee and Wizard, TFT included flexible, non-random, character creation for its two classes, three stats (Strength, Dexterity, and IQ), and combat played out on a hex-grid. MetaGaming founder Howard Thompson and Steve Jackson quickly part ways, with Thompson

This might seem like a simple question to answer. Usually, you play with a group of friends whom you’ve come to know quite well. Even if you find yourself in a hastily assembled game at a convention or store, you usually have a lot in common with the other folks you play with.

But if we consider all the people who may be playing a tabletop RPG at any given time, across all the various places they may be playing them, that question starts

The Open Gaming License is debated frequently, and the original intent and aim of the license is often claimed to be various different things by different people. This is what Ryan Dancey, the author and architect of the OGL, says its goals were. This was originally posted on Paizo.com by Dancey and cross-posted here to EN World as part of one of his columns.

"The purpose of the OGL was to act as a force for change. In that sense I think it is an unquaified success.

It changed the relationship of fans to publishers - any person with an idea could participate in the market if they wished.